Not applicable.
The invention relates to an equipment for reeling used doctor blades to be in storable form for reuse, after-treatment or recycling.
The invention also relates to a method for handling doctor blades for a paper/cardboard machine, comprising the steps of supplying the raw material for doctor blades to the doctor blade production plant, producing the doctor blades in the doctor blade production plant, transporting the doctor blades to the paper/cardboard plant, storing the doctor blades in the paper/cardboard plant prior to introduction to use, mounting the doctor blades to be in connection with paper/cardboard machine rolls, monitoring the condition of doctor blades during the use, and removing the used doctor blades from the paper/cardboard machine.
The doctor blade is an important component in securing the performance of the paper/cardboard machine, which in connection with the roll maintains the condition of the roll face and permits the passing of the web portion that is to be passed into the pulper out of the connection with the roll. Doctor blades are made of different materials, such as steel, glass fibre laminate, carbon fibre laminate and other composite materials. Different materials are needed because doctor blades are used in connection with rolls of different structure groups of paper/cardboard machine, from the wire section to the finishing room, because of which the requirements vary concerning an optimally performing doctor blade. Doctor blades made from certain materials can be reused, e.g. carbon fibre laminate blades of the press section can be reused in the dryer section. After the first use, the doctor blade is cleaned, cut to be of uniform width, sharpened, packed and conveyed to a new target.
For the present, it is more common to cut used doctor blades removed from paper machines into pieces and destroy as residue rather than reuse them. One reason thereto is that the handling of doctor blades is difficult. It is known in the art to reel used doctor blades manually on a roll on the floor and to place them one by one into cardboard boxes used for transporting. There is a risk to have incised wounds when reeling by hand, and moreover, reeling by hand has to be carried out in a most unergonomical position.
For handling doctor blades prior to introduction to use, various designs have been developed. An equipment and a method in handling doctor blades is disclosed in application FI-980514, in which doctor blade blanks are picked from a doctor blade roll and cut off in a cut-off device into a desired length, whereafter a doctor blade is mounted in a paper machine for use. Application No. FI-980148 introduces a storage case for doctor blades in which the doctor blade material is stored as a roll before use. The utility model FIU3395 introduces furthermore a carriage in which doctor blade cases are stored and transported for use.
The object of the present invention is to produce an equipment for storing used doctor blades into a form appropriate for storing and transporting.
A further object of the invention is to produce an equipment for removing used doctor blades from the paper/cardboard machine safely and ergonomically.
One further object of the invention is to provide a method with which used doctor blades can be stored, transported and reused.
The equipment of the invention for reeling used doctor blades to be in storable form is characterized in that the equipment comprises a reeling device provided with a support base, a support arm, a shaft mounted on the support arm, one end whereof being provided with a boss and the other end with a revolving frame, and a transit case, into which the used doctor blades can be reeled on a roll.
The method of the invention for handling doctor blades is characterized in that the method comprises the steps of:
packing the used doctor blades to be in storable form with the aid of a reeling device,
storing the used doctor blades in the paper/cardboard plant,
transporting the used doctor blades away from the paper/cardboard plant, and
delivering the used doctor blades into recycling, reuse or end use.